The municipality's official imbizos will be earlier this year, and the new council will get a head-start on their job, with their annual budget already drawn up by the outgoing council.
The municipality's official imbizos will be earlier this year, and the new council will get a head-start on their job, with their annual budget already drawn up by the outgoing council.
The Makana Municipality has made adjustments to its administrative schedule to accommodate the local government elections which, between 2 March and 2 June, are during the period officials usually hold their imbizos – their public consultation process – on the budget, and the Integrated Development Process (IDP).
A report tabled at the municipality's special council meeting last week, seeking to amend the IDP plan in the 2011-2012 financial year, stated that in terms of the Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, Section 28, the municipality should develop a plan to illustrate, or guide, its IDP processes.
For this reason, Makana's IDP plan was approved by council in August. But since then, the National Treasury has called for municipalities to revise their plans, as they lay in the same period as the scheduled elections.
As a result, Makana has adjusted the schedules for the reviewing and tabling of the IDP, the imbizos, and approval of the IDP and municipal budgets – usually scheduled for 31 May – in time for the start of the new financial year on 30 June.
The National Treasury proposed that either the outgoing council prepare and approve the 2011/12 IDP and budget – which would ensure continuity – or that the outgoing council prepare the 2011/2012 budget, but the new council approve it.
This means the reviewing of the IDP and tabling of the budget could be done as early as March; imbizos would take place during the rest of March and April, instead of in May; and officials would ensure the budget was ready to be placed before council by 1 June.
The new council would then have to consider the budget as their "order of business" and approve it before the start of the new financial new year, on 30 June. This was the option chosen, on the basis that it would allow the new councillors to take ownership of the annual budget.
